


Aggressive Friendship

by VictoryTofu



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-04
Updated: 2013-04-04
Packaged: 2017-12-07 11:38:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,499
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/748112
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VictoryTofu/pseuds/VictoryTofu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Scott tries to protect Stiles from bullies, but that's not Stiles's real problem.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Aggressive Friendship

**Author's Note:**

> I don't hate Scott, contrary to what some folk think. I just don't think he's all that great of a leader. His heart's in the right place, though.

"Leave Stiles alone, Jackson. I'm not warning you again." Scott's jaw was set as he glared down at Jackson, who was half-a-bite into his green apple. The homecoming king looked up with a questioning eyebrow. 

"What are you talking about, McCall?" Jackson pulled on a face of bored satisfaction- his most practiced expression. "Stiles and I are lab partners in AP bio. There're a ton of projects, we have to work together a lot." Scott could smell that Jackson was peeved by his aggressive tone, but since taking his place as Derek's blue-eyed second-in-command, Jackson didn't usually let Scott scare him.

"I don't believe you- he smells way more like you than if you're just hanging out. I smell you all over him, like you've been fighting. Plus- whenever he sees you in the halls his pulse quickens, like he's terrified. Why the hell are you harassing him?" Scott lowered his voice just loud enough for Jackson's super-hearing. "Why the fuck do you get off on beating up a human? He's no match for you, psycho." Scott spat the last word at Jackson. 

Jackson's face went cold. "And you are? I was stronger than you when we were human, and I'm stronger than you, now. I'm not bullying Stiles, we just hang out a lot. He's got a lot of free time now that you replaced him with Isaac." Jackson knew that was a knife to the heart. Scott is terrible at admitting his faults, but even he saw that he'd been spending less and less time with Stiles and more and more with Isaac. 

"Switch lab partners- why aren't you with Danny?"

"Lydia picked Danny- she wanted to be with the second smartest student, and I feel like I'm about to slap your face straight, so we're done. Go find Stiles and see if he's terrified of me. I'm guessing you'll find, that once again in your life, you're wrong." Jackson threw his messenger bag over his shoulder and stormed out of the student lounge, tossing his half-eaten apple over his shoulder into the bin behind him. 

...

Scott couldn't help but simmer over Jackson's insult. Sure, he'd been friendly with Isaac, but there were only three werewolves in school, and one was Jackson. He just liked being around a guy who got what the whole supernatural life is like. He leaned against Stiles's jeep and tried to remember when his math test was. 

"Sup, bro? Something animal related?" Stiles called to Scott as he approached his car. 

"Sup! No, nothing exciting. I just was thinking, wanna hang out a bit? My mom works 'til nine so we can chill at Casa McCall, order a pizza or something. I feel like I haven't hung out with you in days," Scott laughed as he put his bike in Stiles's trunk. 

"Heh, well, we haven't," Stiles had a tight smile on and started his car. "It's actually been two weeks and three days since you and I hung out outside of school property."

"What? No, that's crazy. We hang out all the time!" Scott furrowed his eyebrows and tried to remember the last time they just chilled off campus. 

Stiles sighed as they turned out of the parking lot. "Three Mondays ago, you came over and we hung out until Derek used his 'summon-howl' super power, then you and I guess the other two teen wolves of Beacon Hills had to go throw a werewolf party or whatever." Stiles sounded more bitter than he had meant, but wasn't really sorry. 

"Wow, well, dude, sorry. I'm not trying to ignore you or whatever..." Scott tried to come up with a reason he and his best friend were growing apart. "I just really wanna do well this year, try for a B average, you know, to make up for last year's debacle." Which is true, Scott realizes, he does need to get his grades up, but studying always was an option when they hung out in the past. 

They drove in silence for what felt like an hour. 

"Look, tonight's not good for me, I've gotta do lab work a-"

"With Jackson?" Scott pressed. "You're blowing me off for Jackson? He's a monster tool! And I bet he bullies you into doing all of the work. Does he ever hit you or just rough you up?"

Stiles jerked in the driver's seat, fighting to keep his focus on the road. "Dude- wh-what?!? Where did that come from? Why would Jackson hit me? What are you even talking about?"

Scott felt backed against a wall. "You reek of him, like you've been fighting..."

"Whatever Scott. You know, I'm allowed to make new friends." Stiles pulled in front of the McCalls' house, throwing the jeep into park. "I'm not freaking out accusing Isaac of beating you up 'coz you're his best friend now or whatever. And for the record, Jax doesn't make me to all I the work- he's actually helping me more than I help him."

"I don't trust him- he's been an asshole since first grade!"

"Yeah, he was a douche for a long ass time, and then he died a few times, remember that? The whole were-lizard tool-of-psychopaths nightmare he lived? Yeah, I guess it humbles people, helps them grow or whatever. Find themselves. Plus, he's actually a really good listener," under his breath he added "you may wanna ask him for some tips." Stiles sighed and looked at Scott for a moment. "He's lonely, Scott. Danny is great but doesn't know everything. And I think Lydia deciding to 'just be friends' hurts him way more than he lets on." 

"I just, I worry about you, man. I just don't trust that he's not working an angle." 

Stiles face went red with anger, "Wait, so Jackson would only hang out with a loser like me to get something out of it?!? Like, there is no reason ever that someone might actually enjoy my company? What the hell, dude!"

"No, shit, Stiles, you're taking this out of context-"

"No, Scott, shut up. You ignore me for weeks then decide to tell me who I can be friends with? Get out of my car and go chase a fucking rabbit with Isaac." Stiles's eyes started to water as his pent up frustrations wash over him. 

Scott stood at the open car door, not wanting this to be the end of the conversation, and possibly his longest friendship. "You're over-reacting, " Scott immediately regretted his words. 

"Scott-just... Fuck you, a little bit." Stiles looked down, then back at Scott before Scott could get another word out, Stiles leaned over and slammed the passenger door, then stepped on the gas. The jeep was still in park. Stiles clenched his jaw, shifted to drive and left Scott standing in his front yard, trying to figure out what just happened. 

"He still has my bike," Scott told the street. 

...

Scott paced around his room, he'd returned from a 90 minute run feeling just as anxious as before. Stiles never left Scott like that. Sure, he'd been pissed and yelled at Scott before, but never had he seemed so final. Scott slumped into his desk chair and let himself consider, just for a moment, that he wasn't as great a best friend as he thought he was. 

Attempting to study algebra devolved into Facebook and then porn, and Scott knew that he wasn't going to get much done while his friendship with Stiles was in flux. He opened Skype and called Stiles. 

Three calls later and Stiles was still not responding. "Fuck..." Scott was not used to being unable to reach Stiles, and for a second felt bad for all of the calls and texts he'd ignored from the kid since becoming a werewolf. Scott tried Stile's Skype once more. 

Something on Stiles's perpetually messy desk must have shifted and clicked the accept call button, Scott reasoned, because when the camera turned on, Stiles was not in front of it. Stiles sat on his bed wearing baggy shorts and a grey undershirt, the fewest layers Scott could remember seeing on him in a while. Jackson sat behind Stiles in black running shorts and a white tank, legs on either side, giving Stiles a back rub. Scott's face flushed. He cranked up his volume to listen to their conversation, while muting his own microphone- feeling only slightly creepy. Soft music played in Stiles's room. He recognized it as one of Stiles's favorite bands, though he couldn't remember the name. The Clash, maybe?

"-occupational therapist, maybe med school. I just really like working with my body, and it's not like 'professional lacrosse player' is a reasonable career," Jackson chuckled, the first genuine smile Scott had ever seen on the golden-boy's face. "And, you know, I would like to actually help people. I've hurt so many... During..."

"Babe," Stiles twisted so his eyes locked with Jackson's, reaching over his shoulder to grab his hands, "you have to stop. It's great that you want to help people, but you're not that monster, you never were, you were a victim of two psychos." Scott could barely see their faces, both the video quality and the angle were working against him, but they looked happy and content. Stiles was calm in a way Scott had barely ever seen and Jackson was being vulnerable and affectionate. 

"What about you?" Jackson shifted so he was sitting on the floor, in front of Stiles. He looked up at him as he began to massage his feet. "What's your dream career?"

"Professional foot-massage-recipient?" Stiles's laugh turned into a groan. "Really, though, I have no idea. I spent the last eight months trying to keep Scott alive and the body count as low as possible, I haven't even considered that I might make it to my twenties. Maybe a detective. Or a chef. Or a computer programmer. Or a history teacher. Oh, man, I have no clue, and we gotta start applying to schools in less than a year!" 

Stiles flopped back on the bed, with Jackson snaking up around him to lock Stiles into spooning, his back tight to Jackson's chest and their feet tangled, laying off of the blanket. Scott heard what might have been a contended sigh or might have been the moaning of a deep kiss, and slammed his laptop screen down, severing the connection.

"There is a lot to work through, here," Scott said to himself, leaning back in his chair and scrubbing his hands over his face. Scott had assumed that Stiles was bisexual since seventh grade, and would come out at some point in the future. But Jackson? Jackson was out of left field, and the two of them together simply did not compute in his mind. Studying for math was forgotten, the rest of Scott's evening was spent trying to work out how he could fix his oldest friendship. 

...

On principle, Scott does not like to stalk his friends, but that's exactly what he found himself doing the next morning. Stiles arrived at school earlier than usual and was eating breakfast in the cafeteria, alone, when Scott made his move. When he sat down next to Stiles, the human exaggerated a sigh and moved to grab his bag to leave. Scott's foot was holding down the bag's strap, "Please, let me talk to you."

"You're so lucky you have perfect puppy-dog-eyes," Stiles grumbled and settled back in his chair. "Class starts in like fifteen minutes, so you'd better make your point fast."

Scott had expected a bad attitude, but Stiles's curt tone still hurt. Still, he steeled himself and tried to remember what he said to the mirror last night. "I'm sorry I thought Jackson was hurting you, I shouldn't have thought the worst of him, I was just feeling protective."

"I don't need your protection."

"I know, which is why I'm sorry that I was bossy and quick to judge. We have Derek for that." Scott considered it a small victory that Stiles choked out a laugh. "The point is, I acted without thinking and I really just hate the idea that we're growing apart, dude. I'm sorry."

Stiles took Scott's expectant eyebrows as an invitation to join in. "Dude, just- I forgive you. But seriously, the world doesn't revolve around you. I have nothing against Isaac, but you seriously just dumped me, hard, to hang out with him. That sucked." 

"Stiles, I messed up, it's that simple. I really don't like you being mad at me. Can we be cool again?" Scott's tone was wavering at a point that Stiles was never able to ignore. 

"We're cool, man. Just, you gotta try harder." 

"Understood." Scott quickly responded with a sloppy smile. The boys sat in relatively comfortable silence for a moment, both relieved the drama was behind them. Feeling encouraged, Scott spoke. "So, you know you can tell me, right?" 

Stiles stopped chugging his orange juice and screwed a confused expression at Scott. "Huh?" 

Scott sighed. "You know, like, about guys?" Stiles's face first drained white, then his ears began to blush beet red. "No, dude, don't freak out, I'm not shocked or mad or anything! Just, you can tell me." 

Stiles, uncharacteristically, sat silent. When he did speak, it was much slower than normal. "So, I guess, yeah. I'm, you know, into guys along with girls. How did, am I obvious?"

A warm expression took over Scott's face and he grabbed Stiles's shoulder affectionately. "Dude, I know you. I've known for a while, I just assumed you'd tell me when you started dating a dude."

"So... You know...." Stiles let the words hang in the air. 

"If Jackson is your dude, I can deal with it. I'm just happy you found someone."

Stiles sat with his mouth agape, eyes searching Scott's face. "I- I really like him." Stiles offered an easy grin. "I know you don't see it, but he's so much different this year, and I just really, really like him." Stiles took a deep breath and rolled up the sleeve of his hoodie. "He made me this, he actually likes making bracelets and stuff a lot, but he's too embarrassed to tell folk." Stiles toyed with the light brown hemp braided around his left wrist, admiring the small stones woven into it. "He's really sweet, like," Stiles blushed, "He just makes me feel really good about myself." Stiles chanced a look at Scott's face. 

"Good, Sti, you deserve it. We should hang out sometime, the three of us. I'd like to get to know the new Jackson." Scott was surprised that be actually meant that. Anyone who could make his perpetually skittish and jumpy best friend seem so relaxed and confidant simply by thinking of him had to be a good guy, Scott reasoned. 

They sat for a moment, enjoying one another's company in a way they hadn't in months, when the warning bell rang. "We should," Stiles nodded as they collected their things and rushed to class.

**Author's Note:**

> Oh, how I love Stackson. Maybe there will be some way to work Colton into a season 4 of teen wolf. Hope you guys liked this.


End file.
